When I glimpsed the killer Slytherin t-shirt in the third row, I had a feeling it was going to be a great day.

"I write young adult fiction books-" I started to say, and was happily interrupted by a chorus of excited gasps from the left hand side of the room. I was thrilled to discover that in addition to the amazing blond Slytherin, there were a quite few others who also had, "that look". The one that screams, I'm-not-just-a-book-lover-I'm also-a-voracious-creator-of-other-worlds.

I had that look when I was sixteen.

I'm hope I'm still rockin that look today. :)

It was an honor to be invited to Santa Monica High's Career Day to discuss being a writer. I hope I get to go back there again, because that hour turned out to be heaven on a stick.

The students were fantastic. Insightful, insatiably curious, & crazy creative.They had really thoughtful questions about the craft of writing. I got asked about character development, writer's block, the different processes writers have when they work (what comes first? outline, descriptions, the who, what, when, the where or the why?). It was so much fun that after the class was over, we hung out by the lockers, chatting about our favorite books, the best ya fantasy authors, the process of building a world for your characters to live in...

Yeah. These girls were totally my peeps. Zebras, all of them! Cannot wait for them to publish their first novels. I'm going to be first in line at Barnes & Noble to see what goodies they create.

Talking to readers is my second favorite part (after writing of course) of the author job. I'm thrilled that I got to introduce TRUST to them. Their excitement was invigorating. I am grateful for the reminder of how lucky I am to be doing what I love to do.

Thank you to Sarah, Hannah, Alisa from Slytherin & all the other brilliant students at Santa Monica High School for an inspiring afternoon.

Students in San Jose, California look out!TRUST & I are heading to you next week!